Separated
This is the second episode of Pokemon Guardians. Plot Nathan could feel something creeping up on him. Wherever he turned, it felt like it was behind him. He could suddenly feel a presence at his side, and he turned to attack as he got a sharp jab in the ribs. Stumbling backwards, he sees a flash of black hair as the figure disappears into the trees again. He grimaces, straining his every sense to find his target. He couldn't use his gear, not for this. He hears a small twig crack behind him, and turns around to see a twig lying broken at a tree trunk. "Wha-" is as far as he could get before something landed on his spine, knocking him to the ground and making his vision blur for a split second. Instead of rolling over as his opponent predicted, he launches himself to his feet, knocking the girl to the ground. In a split second, he's on top of her, having her pinned to the ground, grinning slyly. "I think I won this one," he says, feeling especially exhilerated. It'd been almost two weeks since he'd arrived at Poltra, and no big events had turned up since Ursaring. He'd been training with Carla for a few days now, learning she was more into stealth. He'd tried flirting with her occasionally, but was shut down gently each time. They both got to their feet, giving each other a small hug. "You're really getting the hang of this! I didn't expect you to learn my moves so quickly," she says, walking back towards the town. "At this rate, you may even be able to do some out of town missions." She had said it casually, but Nathan couldn't help but feel as if this was a huge thing for a rookie. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant though, so he eagerly asked her. "Oh, there are lots of people who live in small houses between cities. You might be able to help out with situations around there soon," she explains warmly. As she finishes they arrive at the base and see Julie and Bruno working on a disabled Guardian Drone. Glancing up, Julie explains, "The drone is just a bit faulty. Started detecting even baby Yanma as huge threats." Bruno nods as if to confirm her story, and they continue workin on the drone together. Carla points at them, making a silly face while twirling a finger beside her head, earning a snicker from Nathan. The two techies look up, frowning. "What's so funny," the lanky, orange haired teenager asked. Flipping the hair out of his eyes, he looked like a steriotypical nerd. But Nathan had seen first hand the technical expertise Bruno could summon from his head, just as if he was using a guidebook. Winking at Bruno, Nathan walks along over to his room, where Elekid was patiently waiting. Seeing his partner walk in, it drops to the ground and gives him a fist bump. "Good to see ya little buddy. How's your training been going," he asks, knowing full well that Elekid was training with Sneasel. Elekid grimaces slightly, then shows him a patch of ice on his back that hadn't melted yet. "Ouch... Ice Beam to the back, eh? Well, you might as well get over it. This is training. Imagine what a REAL fight would be like. Especially if we didn't have any back up..." he says, thinking of all the training they'd need before that could happen. He plops down on his bed, sighing. "This whole thing has been like a dream. So... Why does it feel so horrible," he asks, more to himself than anything. He nearly leaps out of bed when he hears another voice saying, "Perhaps it's because of us." He has no time to react before a strange cloth is wrapped around his mouth, and he sees Elekid unconscious. It's chloroform, he thinks to himself, his eyes watering. Within another three seconds, he's forced to breathe, and everything goes black. The camera picks up again with Julie walking into Nathan's room. "It's dinner t-" She drops the wrench she was holding, seeing signs of a struggle in here. She rushes to the others, urging them in. They look around in suspicion, until Julie notices something. "Guys, look! It's a piece of black cloth!" They all rush over there, Bruno picking it up and observing it. His eyes widen as he realizes where it's from. "Shroud is back." No one says another word. Carla, Jackson, and Bruno have the car loaded in two minutes, with Julie trailing behind by a few seconds. After she hops into the Guardian Buggy, Jackson suddenly slams his fist against his head. "It's no use! We have no idea where he is," he roars, scaring a flock of nearby Spearow away. Carla hands Bruno her LCD (Local Communications Device), who instantly begins to rewire it, his eyes working with a feverish look. "If I put this wire here, then connect this one here, and rewire this system," he mutters, almost in a trance. Julie watches admiringly, taking mental notes of every wire relocation he makes. Soon, the LCD is letting out a low beep. As he points it Southwest of the base, the signal grows slightly stronger. "That way," he shouts, and Jackson slams into the peddle, causing the Guardian Buggy to leap forward. They all get a small amount of whiplash, but not enough to lower their anxiety. Carla strokes her hair nervously, while Julie chews on her fingernails. The camera switches to a dark cave, where Nathan awakes, feeling a rough napsack over his head. The sack is yanked off, just in time for him to see a menacing man with bright red eyes, pale skin, and full black clothing. Squinting, he realizes he can't tell the difference between it and the shadows. His heart suddenly picks up in pace, and he can feel a cold sweat dripping down his forehead. He recognizes this apparel. As the man looks down at the boy, he realizes Nathan knows about them. He smiles, the anticipation almost killing him. Almost. He grabs Nathan by the throat, relishing the fear in his eyes. "Do you know me boy?" How could he not know? They were ancient history. Centuries old. But the darkness they planted in the earth could never be forgotten. Nathan nods, as much as possible with a hand around his throat. He tries to say something, but the hand squeezes the words back down his throat. The man flings Nathan into the wall of the cave, causing a resounded pop to echo through the cavern. Nathan grunts in pain, knowing his shoulder was just dislocated. He looks up into the man's eyes, seeing the glee in them. The pure happiness the man gains from his pain is enough to make Nathan want to destroy him. The man nods to two burly men in masks and similar apparel. They both pull Nathan up while the man looks into his eyes. "Are you ready to crack, Nathaniel," the man asks, savoring the chill of terror that goes down the boy's spine. Nobody ever called him by his full name, not even his teachers had. The man, breaking his calm composure, slams his fist into Nathan's gut, causing him to cough up blood. His eyes are filled with tears, but he says nothing. "Cry, boy, cry!" He slams his fist rapidly into Nathan's gut, causing him to choke on the blood. He finally is overcome by pain, falling limp in the two men's arms. The leader smiles at him as they take him toward a small cage. "Nothing like a cage for those who imprisoned us." Turning briskly towards the cave's entrance, he hears an engine in the distance. He frowns. That wasn't possible. This was one of the most remote locations on this side of the region. His thoughts are shattered as the Guardian Buggy roars through the treeline, emerging in the cave light. Jackson and Carla immediately leap out, prepared for action. The man looks them in the eye, and flings his hand forward, throwing a Poke Ball with a purple capsule lid. Out of the Poke Ball comes a Gliscor. But this Gliscor is different. It's a dark red instead of purple, and its eyes are black, gleaming with malice. The Guardians step back in horror, recognizing it as a Fallen Pokemon. Pokemon that only the Shroud used. They were Pokemon whose souls had been twisted, their blood replaced with a black goo-like substance that oozed out of any wounds. Nathan slams against the cage door, trying to free himself. Bruno sees Nathan trapped in the cage, and realizes he can see Elekid, unconscious and bleeding in the hay behind him. Jackson and Carla send out their own partners, Machoke and Sneasel. "Attack the Shroud," they both shouted, their voices ringing in unison. Sneasel attacks the Gliscor with a rapid flurry of ice attacks that seem to do much less damage than they should have. Machoke attempts to grab the leader, while the other two Shroud run away, seeming to merge with the shadows of the night. The leader grabs the Machoke's head, whispering in a language unknown to the Guardians, "Nusfya, muyra Machoke." Machoke screams, his eyes turning black with red lines coming from them. He turns towards Jackson and charges, Jackson barely blocking in time. It's partner versus partner now. Carla activates her TAABs, setting them on ice, and slams them into Gliscor's face, startling it. That's all Sneasel needs to finish it off as they turn their attention to Jackson and Machoke. The red lines seemed to be slowly spreading from his eyes. "GET THE SHROUD," is the only thing he needs to say. Carla turns her attention to the Shroud leader, who is calmly returning his Fallen Gliscor. Sneasel leaps at him, attempting to use Feint Attack, but he vanishes, seeming to merge with the floor. Carla gasps as the legends unfold in front of her eyes. The Shroud can morph with the shadows. As the leader escapes, Machoke grips his head in agony, the red lines fading from his skin. His eyes slowly return to normal, and they all just stand there for a minute, Bruno and Julie in the car, Nathan and Elekid in the cage, Carla and Jackson alongside their partners in the cave's mouth. "Let's... Let's get Nathan," Jackson says, breathing heavily. They open the cage door, and Nathan walks out slowly, his chest heaving rapidly. Carla holds him close, whispering into his ear. "Let's go home, okay?" Nathan doesn't respond, already slipping into unconsciousness. Two Weeks Later Nathan's eyes flutter open for the first time in two weeks. He attempts to look around, but he feels like he's trapped in some kind of goop. His eyes widen when he realizes he's only in his boxers, and that he really is floating in goop. He attempts to go up, but can't move. The hatch suddenly pops open, and the grinning face of Bruno meets his eyes. He's yanked out of the tube, the goop sliding off as if it was never there. He man-hugs Bruno, giving him a pat on the back, and suddenly flushes when Carla leaps into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Don't you EVER act dead again," she says, her voice thick with emotion. He just pats her awkwardly on the back as the others come in, all hugging him. They slowly fill him in on what he's missed and what happened. It turns out that he had passed out into a coma, and they had to put him in a Healing Tank, filled with a sort of goop that heals wounds, both external and internal. The past two weeks have apparently been huge for the Guardians. They've officially warranted that the Shroud are back. The darkness they repelled almost a thousand years ago is back, and these people have no experience fighting them. That is, except for these five. Nathan gets dressed, finding Elekid outside training with Sneasel. Apparently he had been healed in less than a week, and had been practicing ever since. Nathan looked to the sky, his mind now filled to the brim with the feeling of danger. He'd been kidnapped by the Shroud. They'd been willing to kill him. They'd used a Fallen Pokemon, which had supposedly been driven to extinction centuries ago. He knew it would only get worse from here. Gripping the hand of his closest friend here, he looked into her striking brown eyes and smiled. They would make it out of this. All of them. He was sure of it. 'Post-Episode Question!' In the next episode, Nathan and his teammates will be dealing with an infestation of Bug-type Pokemon! And it seems Nathan may get a new Pokemon! What Pokemon do YOU want to see Nathan capture? Who should Nathan's next Pokemon be? Butterfree Beedrill Pinsir Whirlipede Staravia Murkrow Fletchinder Pidgeotto Wurmple Zubat Category:Episodes